Tempus Fugit
by DJE
Summary: When a time travelling Than fleet destroys the Andromeda Ascendant, Harper is the only survivor.
1. Default Chapter

1 "Tempus Fugit" [Part One]  
  
How many people have to die,  
  
before it becomes genocide?  
  
Ashes of Lightning – The Legend of Syn-Avan-Dar  
  
C.Y. 10138  
  
Harper stood and stared, as the Eureka Maru burst from Slipstream. The massive, daunting shape of the Haephastos Black hole stared back at him, hauntingly. Harper held the cold, metal bar in the Maru, as Beka bought the ship to a stop.  
  
"Its beautiful isn't it?" Beka asked him as she caught his eyes and followed them to the huge mass of spiralling dark gases.  
  
"I guess," Harper said, "it's just that I'd hate to happen to me what happened to Dylan. To be pulled away from the life I knew, into a completely different one. Into a harsh new world. It scares me."  
  
"Oh Harper. Getting a hint of wisdom in your old age!" Beka joked.  
  
Just then the Maru's computers beeped to tell them that the Andromeda was approaching. The Andromeda had been on a mission to secure a shipment of Nova Bombs. Dylan felt that with the Magog on their way they had to do everything that they could to defend themselves.  
  
Beka and Harper had been on a trading mission to a nearby drift. They had managed to gain an entire cargo pod full of spare parts and supplies. All it had cost was a fake Vedran gem that Harper had made. This particular sort of Vedran gem was very rare and people would pay good money for one. Beka had no problems with trading a fake one, seeing as most of those on the drift were corrupt merchants anyway. Dylan had of course objected at first, but since the Maru left the Andromeda there really little that he could do.  
  
"Maru," Dylan's voice came over the comm, "I hope you've had as successful a time as we have?"  
  
"We've got everything you wanted," Beka smiled.  
  
"Thanks to yours truly," Harper interrupted with a smile on his face. "Just one fake Vedran Coronation Stone and we can have whatever we want."  
  
"Within reason," Dylan frowned at Harper, but didn't conceal his smile very well.  
  
"CODE RED," Beka and Harper suddenly heard Rommie's cry over the comm. "CODE RED. THAN WARSHIPS ON MULTIPLE VECTORS!"  
  
Beka and Harper looked up to see hundreds of Than-Thre-Kull warships pouring through the Slipstream portal. Harper jumped down to Beka's side as she began to manoeuvre the Maru.  
  
Than weapons pounded the Andromeda's hull. Explosions rippled across the ship's gleaming white surface.  
  
"I thought the Than were supposed to be good guys," Harper cried.  
  
"Be grateful they're not firing at us," Beka said.  
  
Harper suddenly had an idea. He grabbed a wire from the console and plugged it in to the small implant on his neck. He was inside the Andromeda's systems. He made a few easy commands and he was looking through Rommie's eyes. He pressed a button and he began to record what he saw onto a data chip.  
  
Rev Bem lay dead on the Command Deck floor. Conduits burst open and bullets of fire shot from the walls. Trance was hit. She went down.  
  
"Bring us about," Dylan cried over the roar of fire, and the pounding of constant weapon strikes.  
  
"Trying," Harper heard himself say in Rommie's body.  
  
Fire erupted from the rear corridor and Rommie was knocked down. Harper felt the hope die within her. She looked up as Tyr fell to the deck dead. Then another weapon hit.  
  
Harper screamed as Rommie cut him loose. He was on the Maru again. On the Maru, just watching the terror unfold.  
  
"Help –" Dylan's final cry cut through the void. His last word.  
  
Beka and Harper could do nothing but watch. A massive explosion rocked the Andromeda. She began to drift in space. Her weapons were disabled. Her slipstream drive was disabled. She couldn't even get to safety.  
  
"Andromeda…" Beka cried breathlessly. Tears welling up in her eyes.  
  
"What the hell is happening?" Harper shouted helplessly, fighting back his own tears.  
  
Suddenly, the biggest explosion ripped across the ship. Harper leaned forward. Shocked. The Andromeda drifted so that it was at an angle with the Maru. Then.  
  
All of a sudden, the Andromeda Ascendant erupted into golden, red flames. The devastating scene reflected through the Maru's window. And in Harper's eyes. Tears flowed openly down his face now. The Andromeda was gone. Now just a field of burning debris. A wreckage. A remembrance of the High Guard. A remnant of what was.  
  
The Maru rocked violently. Harper fell to the deck. He was pulled back to reality. Back to real time again. Beka was now standing above the pilot's seat. She desperately thumped at the controls.  
  
"Oh god." Harper heard her say. "The Than. They're trying to pull us aboard."  
  
Harper watched as the long steal, mooring cables enveloped the Maru in a clever net. A Than ship grew gradually bigger and bigger as they were pulled aboard. The massive shape of the three branches, steming from the main hull cast a shadow across the Maru. Then they came to a shuddering holt. Beka grabbed the steal bar and Harper fell into the pilot's chair. The Maru jolted one final time as the came to rest in the Than docking bay.  
  
"Oh god," Beka repeated.  
  
"No." Harper cried in desperation.  
  
"The doors have been secured. We're OK. For now." Beka tried to reassure Harper. It didn't work. They began to hear Than weapons pound at the doors.  
  
There was a sudden flash. "We've gone to Slipstream," Beka announced.  
  
"Why don't we just fire our weapons and get the hell out of here?" Harper cried as he wiped more tears away. He was vainly trying to think of way to escape the wrath of the Than-Thre-Kull.  
  
"While we're in Slipstream?" Beka cried, her astonishment showing clearly on her face. "Firstly it would be too dangerous to leave now. We would be crushed as soon as we entered slipstream. And it would be too dangerous to use the weapons, so close to the docking doors." Beka turned to Harper and looked into his eyes. "What are we going to do?"  
  
Just then, the Maru's doors burst open. Beka didn't turn around in time. She was shot with a Than pulse rifle. She fell over the bar, and thudded to the deck below. She was dead.  
  
Harper grabbed his force lance and shot the nearest two Than. They fell. He ran at another of them and thrust him to the wall. He hit his elbow into the Than's face. He had enough time to grab the Than's throat and threaten him with the force lance.  
  
He went to the door with his hostage, who was screaming something in that harsh Than language. The soldiers stopped in their tracks as they saw Harper and the Than. Harper counted on this being an important Than.  
  
"Open the bay doors or he dies." Harper cried as he slammed the Maru's doors shut. He threw the Than to the floor, then kicked him in the head. The Than fell. Unconscious.  
  
Harper jumped back into the pilot's chair. He saw the bay doors open. He saw that they were no longer in Slipstream.  
  
"Obviously you're quite important to them," he shouted at the oblivious Than.  
  
He lifted the Maru away from the platform and guided the ship carefully through the gap. As he came out, he saw thousands of Than ships. They surround a massive red planet.  
  
"Wow!" Harper cried as he recognised the planet. It was San-Ska-Re, the homeworld of the Than-Thre-Kull species. He didn't know what to do. Where did he go from here? What was he supposed to do?  
  
Suddenly, it was as if the choice had been made for him. Panels all around him exploded. The Maru rocked and began to fall towards San-Ska-Re.  
  
Harper realised that the Than were firing on him. He felt like killing the hostage he had in retaliation but decided against it. It was the only advantage he had. Also, he needed to know what the hell was going on. The Than had some explaining to do.  
  
He tried to dodge the Than missiles. He tried to fire back. All that he did, he did in vain. The Maru continued to descend. The Than weapons were a lot more advanced than the Maru's.  
  
Harper gave up as he realised that they were going to crash land into the planet. Golden clouds now sped past the main view window. The clouds began to thin out.  
  
"You obviously weren't THAT important to them," Harper cried enraged.  
  
He could now see mountains. An endless range of mountains and desert. Dark golden sand and the glowing sun striking down on the harsh landscape.  
  
As the mountains grew ever nearer, Harper got strapped into the chair and braced himself. Sweat and dirt covered his face. He bit his tongue. He fought back more tears but it was hard. In such a short time all of his friends had died. The life he had known was gone. And he determined that he wanted revenge. He wanted to find out why the Than had killed his friends. His family. He wanted to know what purpose all of this served.  
  
He had no time to think of such things now though. The mountains were within only a few metres. It was only a matter of time before the Maru hit something.  
  
And then it came. A grinding smash. Sparks flew from everywhere. Harper jolted uncontrollably. Fire roared through the Maru. She began to nose dive and collided with the sand.  
  
Harper tried hard to stay conscious. The Maru continued at a terrifying speed through the mountains. He tried not to blink. He was worried that each time he saw darkness, it would be the last thing he ever saw. Then everything began to fade away. He only faintly heard the explosions rip through the ship. He only faintly saw the mountains and the sun. He only faintly felt the Maru come to a crushing stop. Everything paled into complete darkness. Into complete insignificance. Everything went dead.  
  
1.1 TO BE CONTINUED… 


	2. 

1 "Tempus Fugit" [Part Two]  
  
There are so many different interpretations of the truth.  
  
Who knows what truth really means anymore?  
  
Ashes of Lightning  
  
C.Y. 10138  
  
Harper regarded the Emerald Than with cold, penetrating eyes. His eyes slowly traced the alien figure carefully, suspiciously.  
  
Harper had not been conscious for long. He didn't know how long he'd been unconscious for either. He did know that a wide, painful wound scarred his forehead and that blood now stained his face. He pushed his hand through his wet, sweat matted hair and continued to examine the Than.  
  
Since he had regained consciousness, Harper had chained his enemy in the doorway to the corridor. His wrists were bound to the top corners of the entrance and his legs bound to the bottom corners.  
  
The Than was hardly wounded at all. The dark green, purplish colour of his hard shell like skin was scarred in only one place, where a gash ran down the side of his right arm.  
  
Harper was getting impatient. "Wake up BUG!" he screamed at the Than as he delivered a swift punch to his stomach. The insectoid appearance of the Than-Thre-Kull had inspired the "bug" nickname that Harper used. The Than were extremely offended by this, but at this moment he didn't really care.  
  
The Than's eyes opened with a start. He looked up and studied his captor. He then began to scream something in that Than language.  
  
"Common. Speak Common," Harper cried as he delivered another blow, this time to the Than's chest.  
  
"Very well," the Than complied. "You are Seamus Harper."  
  
"And who are you?" Harper tried to show that he wasn't shocked by the Than knowing him. Of course, he was.  
  
"My name is Ashes of Lightning," the Than replied, "as translated into your primitive language anyway."  
  
"How do you know my name?" Harper questioned as he took short, slow, controlled steps across the small chamber.  
  
The Than began to laugh. "Because I met you 50 years ago," he answered and astonished Harper. "When you killed 2 billion of my people."  
  
Harper was taken completely by surprise. He stopped dead where he was and turned to the Than who called himself Ashes of Lightning. "What are you talking about? 50 years ago I wasn't even thought of."  
  
"You really have no idea what's happening do you?" Lightning said, obviously amused. "You have no idea what you're getting into!"  
  
"Enlighten me," Harper demanded.  
  
"What year do you think it is?" Lightning questioned him.  
  
"Its C.Y. 10088"  
  
"Try C.Y. 10138," he shot back. "We've just pulled you forward fifty years into your own future."  
  
"You come from the future," Harper cried. He was beginning to understand, a little. "You travelled back in time by half a century to destroy the Andromeda." Harper stepped closer to Lightning. Their two faces were now almost touching. "Why?"  
  
"I'll tell you a little bedtime story shall I?" Ashes of Lightning began in a bold, threatening tone. "Towards the end of C.Y. 10088, the Andromeda visited the Than-Thre-Kull planet, Syn-Avan-Dar. I was there, a five-year- old child. An innocent. As were my parents."  
  
"Can I have the short version," Harper commanded, "let's not forget which of us is chained to the wall."  
  
"Basically, the Andromeda was in diplomatic negotiations with the Hegemony on Syn-Avan-Dar. The Overdiamond of the Hegemony had recently agreed to sign the Commonwealth Charter. Then, after three days the Andromeda fired two Nova Bombs at the planet and fled. 2 billion Than died. I was on a transport ship on its way to the Andromeda. My parents were on the planet. Along with all of the friends and family that I have ever known."  
  
The Than had finished. Harper didn't know what to say. He was breathless. He was speechless. If Lightning's story was true – No it couldn't be true. It couldn't.  
  
"You're lying," Harper announced. "The Andromeda would never do that."  
  
"Let me prove it to you. We're on San-Ska-Re. We must be. If we can get to a major city then we can get a transport to Arami Eltor. There, I can prove to you what happened. I can show it two you. I can show you the truth."  
  
"How do I know I can trust you?" Harper was trying to think sensibly through a story, which just didn't make sense. "What's to stop you from killing me as soon as I untie you?"  
  
"Take away my weapon." Lightning was trying to reach a compromise. He wanted justice. He wanted to show Harper what had happened on Syn-Avan-Dar. "Take my weapon from me and I'll have no way to kill you. Neither do I have a reason to kill you. The Andromeda Ascendant is gone, that's all that matters. I'm not an evil person. I just want to show you justice. Besides coming with me is a hell of a lot better than the alternative isn't it?"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
The massive city of Arami Eltor loomed ahead. Its huge glorious buildings climbed high above Harper and Ashes of Lightning, examples of the most beautiful Than architecture. The most beautiful constructs.  
  
It had been almost two weeks since the Eureka Maru had crashed in the deserts of San-Ska-Re. After unpacking some of the supplies from the Maru, Harper and Lightning headed towards the nearest city. Harper had at first objected to leaving the Maru, but he seen realised there was no other choice. That long tiring walk had taken almost a week in itself. A week through the harsh burning sands had taken its toll on Harper. Lightning was used to it however. Each night they had been forced to camp out in the desert. On the first night, Harper had been comforted hoping that the nights would be much colder than the hardly bearable day times. He was soon proved wrong, when he realised that San-Ska-Re was as hot and unbearable in the dead of night as it was in the day.  
  
When they finally did reach this near city, Harper couldn't remember its name, they caught a transport to Arami Eltor. Now they were there, at the end of their long journey.  
  
During the course of their two weeks together, Harper and Lightning had formed a begrudging respect for one another. A reluctant trust in each other. Harper had been worried at first that Lightning would try to kill him. By now though he had, had many opportunities, while Harper had been sleeping to do whatever he wanted, but he stayed with Harper, and he let him live.  
  
Harper had also had plenty of time to think. Every night he had terrifying nightmares of the Andromeda and of the Than. During the day all he could think about was the Andromeda and his friends and he clutched tightly in his hand the chip with the painful recording on it. The recording from the Andromeda's command deck.  
  
As the unlikely allies continued to walk from the docking station, the buildings began to stretch around them. Before he even knew it, Lightning had taken Harper to where they wanted to go.  
  
In a small, dark, back alleyway there was a concealed bump in the sands. Lightning knelt down and after brushing away some sand he tapped away at a brightly illuminated console.  
  
Harper jumped as a door glided silently open in the sand, revealing a series of steps. He clutched his force lance as he followed the Than down the steps. The door shut behind them, enveloping them in complete darkness. He held his weapon even more tightly now.  
  
Then, another door opened directly in front of him. This time, the opening revealed Lightning's huge laboratory. Ranges of computer panels, with brightly decorated screens and panels stretched across the perimeter of the room. In the centre sat a big table full of odd looking tools and devices.  
  
Ashes of Lightning marched inside, finally welcoming himself home once again. He was followed by a cautious Harper.  
  
"Wow!" was all he could say in utter amazement. He temporarily forgot about all that had happened as he admired the place. From the central table a pole rose to a point, at which a glowing Than emerald rested.  
  
Ashes of Lightning had told Harper all about the technology which the Than had developed, which allowed them to travel through time. This emerald was an important part of the process. As Harper understood it, the Than gem was a temporal distorting device. When used in conjunction with a Slipstream core it allowed you to easily reverse the Slipstream polarity and travel to a pre-destined time.  
  
"You're impressed." Lightning observed. He walked over to a particularly complicated looking panel and pressed a few keys. An animated display showed the progress of Lightning's command. When it had finished, Vedran writing came up on the screen delivering the message: COMPLETED.  
  
From a small slot a chip popped out and the Than took it. "Trust me," he said as he inserted the strangely shaped chip into Harper's own implant. "Are you ready?" Lightning asked him, genuine concern showing on his face.  
  
"I'm ready for you to show me what you say is the truth."  
  
The Diamond Than pressed a button on the chip and stepped back.  
  
A sudden pain shot down Harper's spine. He blinked, and he was suddenly standing in the town square of a massive Than city. He saw all of Andromeda's crew: Dylan, Beka, Tyr, Rommie, Trance, Rev and himself. They were – He was watching as an important looking Than signed the Commonwealth Charter. All the Than looked so happy.  
  
Then, it was as if he was standing in the endless expanse of space. He saw the beautiful Than planet, Syn-Avan-Dar and he saw the sleek glorious shape of the Andromeda Ascendant orbiting the planet. He was tiny compared to all this. As he looked around he saw the fleet of Than warships surrounding the planet.  
  
All of a sudden, the Andromeda broke away from her orbit. She turned to face the planet at a distance. Harper's breath caught in his throat. Two dark blue, glowing bolts of light shot from the Andromeda. Nova Bombs. Harper could only watch in horror as the bombs impacted on Syn-Avan-Dar's surface.  
  
He was then back on the planet. Those Than that had earlier been so happy were running. They were terrified. Harper saw the horrifying blue bolt fall down and crash against the planet. He felt the ground shake. He watched. He watched as sky high waves of burning blue flames roared towards him. The beautiful buildings were incinerated instantly. And then Harper could do nothing as he was hit by the fire himself. He felt his body being ripped apart. He felt his arms and his legs fall away into ashes. The screaming faces of thousands of Than raced through his mind. They screamed. He screamed.  
  
But then, through the tears, he could see the planet again. He saw the Andromeda and the Than fleet race to Slipstream. He saw the blue flames. He saw the cataclysm rip across the planet. He saw the world turn to ashes. Then the planet itself erupted into erratic, uncontrollable fire. The fire raced towards him. The planet was gone. Incinerated. Burnt into billions of pieces. 2 billion Than dead. Harper closed his eyes and screamed…  
  
His eyes shot open. He realised that the simulation had finished and he stopped screaming. He tried to catch his breath. Slowly he wiped the tears from his eye. When he realised that he was on his knees he got up.  
  
He looked deep into Lightning's eyes and said, "I'm so sorry."  
  
It was a long time before anybody said anything again. Then Harper broke the silence.  
  
"Help me," he said genuinely pleading with the Than. "You have a crystal there. Steal me a ship. Help me steal a ship. I can use it to go back in time. I can bring back my friends. Now I know what will happen. I can prevent it. I promise."  
  
"How would you stop your friends from dying?" was all that Ashes of Lightning asked.  
  
"I can destroy the Than fleet when you come through the Slipstream at Haephastos," Harper said. "But you would still be alive," he continued before the Than could object. "It would change the time line. Nobody would have to die."  
  
Harper could tell that the Than was thinking. Lightning turned from him. He was contemplating. Little more than three weeks ago he had been called up for the mission, to command one of the Than warships that led the assault on the Andromeda Ascendant. It was the first joint mission that the two warring factions of the Than people had taken in a long time. It was important. He had expected it to be an easy, routine mission. Now, three weeks later he had Harper to contend with.  
  
When he turned back, all he said was, "No."  
  
Harper pulled out a chip from his pocket. He tossed it at the Than. "Watch the recording on this chip," he demanded.  
  
The Than went over the central table and he picked out an implant. He flinched as it penetrated his skin. He then inserted the chip.  
  
Suddenly, Ashes of Lightning found himself on the Andromeda's Command Deck. He saw a Magog lying dead on the floor. He saw conduits burst and he saw a young purple girl. She was hit by a bullet of fire. He watched as she fell down.  
  
He heard the Captain shouting, "bring us about." He heard himself reply, "trying."  
  
He then heard and felt fire erupt behind him. He fell to the deck. As his vision began to waver he saw a Nietzschean fall dead. Then he saw Than weapons fire. It hit. He heard the Captain's last words. "Help –"  
  
He closed his eyes tight and opened them only when he was sure it was safe. Harper was looking down at him. "Those were my friends," Harper said as he pulled Lightning up. "Those were the people you killed."  
  
Ashes of Lightning remembered the look of innocence on the purple girl's face as she fell dead.  
  
"OK," he announced, "I'll help you."  
  
TO BE CONTINUED…  
  
  
  
  
  
1.1 


	3. 

1 "Tempus Fugit" [Part Three]  
  
All good plans fail for one,  
  
Yet succeed for others.  
  
Dark Thunder of Night  
  
C.Y. 10088 – at the Signing of the Commonwealth Charter  
  
Harper walked through the vast, endless corridors silently, trying to go unnoticed. It was easy not to be noticed in this alien environment. Even though it was a Than docking port there were people from all over the galaxies. He had so far recognised Than, Perseids, Humans, Nietzscheans, Nightsiders and Kalderans.  
  
The Than corridors went on forever. He was always turning from this way to that, left or right and he never seemed to be getting anywhere.  
  
"Take the next left, you're nearly there," Harper heard the voice of Ashes of Lightning in his head. Two days ago, when Lightning had agreed to help him, they had begun to formulate a plan to steal a Than ship, without Lightning being part of it. Harper respected the Than for actually agreeing to help him, and he understood why he didn't want to steal the ship himself. It was Harper who had come up with the easy solution. He had created a radio link between their two implants, which not only allowed them to hear and talk to each other, but they could see through each other's eyes. Harper had simply made the implants record what each person was seeing, so at will, the other person could see the recording.  
  
Harper complied with the orders and turned to his left. However, he immediately came up against a security door. Two Than guards were standing there with pulse rifles in their hands, and the doors remained shut. Harper turned back on himself, trying not to look suspicious and stepped back into the corridor. He turned back the way he had come and leaned against the wall.  
  
"I see them," Lightning reassured him, "I'm now looking through their systems. I'm trying to create a diversion."  
  
That was another part of the plan. As Lightning had explained it, he was a General in the Hegemon's Guard, one of the two fleets at the time. The other fleet was known as the Hegemon's Sentinel and the two had been locked in a fierce war since that fateful day on Syn-Avan-Dar. When the Than told him that story, Harper couldn't help feel a pang of guilt. He was trapped in a world at war. A war that he began.  
  
Ashes of Lightning's high up position in the Guard allowed him to gain access to the systems in the massive complex that he had sent Harper to. He was only allowed restricted access, but he had bypassed the systems and now had free reign.  
  
"Now," Lightning said after a few minutes. "Go up to the doors. They should open automatically."  
  
"Won't the guards shoot?" Harper questioned before he remembered all of the people who might stare at him.  
  
"They shouldn't do," Lightning told him, "they are programmed to read the person they see in front of them. If they recognise them, the doors will open. No questions will be asked. Trust me. The doors will open."  
  
Harper did as he was instructed. He turned back to the left and made as if to march straight through the doors. To his utter surprise the doors slid effortlessly open. He was through. He felt the suspicious eyes of the Than guards following him through the corridor beyond, until the doors had closed behind him again.  
  
Now he was in a very short, but extremely large corridor. Two more massive corridors went off to his right and left and one straight in front of him.  
  
"They are for cargo," Lightning said. "Take the one straight in front of you."  
  
Harper did as he was told and continued to march through the corridor ahead. It seemed endless, until he found himself at another massive door. There was another pair of guards again. He walked straight at the door as he had before, but failed. The door didn't open.  
  
The two Than thrust the weapons out into Harper's chest and threw him back. He landed in a heap on the floor. He sat there and waited for Lightning's command, but none came. In the end, he decided he had no other choice. He jumped to his feet. He pulled out his concealed force lance and shot at the Than. They both, fell but they were only wounded.  
  
"Nooooo!" Lightning cried in desperation.  
  
"Now what?" Harper cried, desperate to get out of there before it was too late. No answer came. "Now what?" he demanded again.  
  
Suddenly the doors in front of him shot open. He walked through and was in the biggest single room he had ever seen. All around the place a metal walk went; penetrated in multiple places by stairways to other levels. Gangplanks led off from the walk into Than shuttle ships. They looked very similar to the Than warships, but they were much smaller, and Harper believed that they looked more elongated.  
  
He looked over the bar on the edge of the walk and saw that the docking bay of Than shuttles stretched low down and when he looked up he could hardly see where it stopped. To his right he saw endless streams of Than ships. To his left. Far to his left he could faintly see the massive doors which led to the outside. A forcefield in each door.  
  
"Why did you bring me to a Than bay?" he cried. He was worried that the Than security would easily recognise him amongst all of the Than-Thre-Kull.  
  
"No other ships are compatible with our technology," Lightning shot back. "Now," Lightning continued, "go to the nearest Than ship on your right. Its completely empty."  
  
Harper complied. He found the nearest shuttle on his right and he walked up the gangplank into the ship. Somebody saw him. Either that or somebody had called an alert after finding the guards. He was shot at. He was hit. He fell to the metal gangplank with a thud and held his arm as blood poured from it.  
  
"Get up," Lightning screamed. "Get up! You can still escape."  
  
Harper cried in pain as he got to his feet and rushed onto the shuttle. He was closely followed by the Than guards but once he was inside the doors shut behind him. He was safe.  
  
He was already in the central chamber of the shuttle. There were small rooms coming off, but he didn't need them. He fuelled his actions with urgency when he heard the Than weapons begin to pound on the doors. He remembered the Maru. He remembered Beka.  
  
"What now?" Harper said to Lightning trying not to think of the events that had scarred his life.  
  
"Sit in the pilot's chair."  
  
He did so. It was not very comfortable. It was conformed to Than comfort, and to Than rules and regulations. Other than that however, it was very similar to the Maru's chair. He grabbed hold of the steering command rods and waited for more orders.  
  
"I've done it," Lightning cried, obviously very pleased with himself as Harper felt the Than ship move towards the docking bay doors. "Now you have control, the panels are all in Vedran so it should be simple."  
  
Harper was still not sure. He guided the ship carefully through the constant mass of other ships. He glanced down at the panels to get an idea of the controls. He tried to remember where most of the important ones were.  
  
All of a sudden, he saw a massive bolt of red light speed past the viewscreen. It impacted on a Than ship down below him, but a few metres in front. He saw the shuttle explode into a ball of fire. "That's my fault," he said to himself. Horrified.  
  
He manoeuvred the ship at an angle through other ships. He felt more weapons fire shoot by him. Another ship was hit, but it only began to fall away from its original path. Harper fell forward as he was suddenly hit. And again. He was hit. The shuttle began to descend at a rapid pace.  
  
Harper gazed in horror as his shuttle collided with another, unsuspected shuttle. Fire roared openly through the shuttle now. It was knocked to its side by the impact and Harper saw the other shuttle erupt into fire and chaos.  
  
He was desperate to escape. He knew that if he were captured he would most likely be killed. Killed by the Than and all of this would be over.  
  
"Lightning," he cried but there was no response.  
  
Suddenly: "Harper. Harper. I'm in danger. They've traced the signal back to me."  
  
"Help me," Harper cried.  
  
"I have to cut the link."  
  
"No," Harper pleaded, "if they already now where you are. Please help me."  
  
Harper felt that the link was still there, but he couldn't hear Lightning. He was completely lost. He didn't know what to do. He got up from the chair. He looked back at the doors and had one final hope. One final idea. He forced the doors open and stood there for a while. It was amazing. He could see. He could hear. He could feel the weapons rush by. And the ships exploding.  
  
Then, one particular bolt of energy seemed to be coming his way. He had no choice. It was the end. He looked down and swallowed.  
  
"Goodbye!" He shouted. Not at Lightning. Not at anybody.  
  
Harper felt as if he was suddenly moving in slow motion. He took the leap of faith. He made a move that would kill him. He decided that it was better than being captured. He closed his eyes. The tears that ran down his face were beginning to sting his wounds.  
  
Then. He jumped. He jumped from the doorway and into the abyss below. As he did, he felt the sudden blast. The blast, as his shuttle was ripped to pieces by Than weapons. He couldn't help but open his eyes. There was nothing he could do.  
  
He was falling. All he could see was falling. All he could feel was falling. The plan had failed. It had been obvious from the start that it was a very risky plan, but he had never expected it to fail so horribly.  
  
He was falling. All he could see was falling. All he could feel was falling. He had lost everything. His friends. His family. He had no reason to live. He had given up, and even as he continued to fall he was happy in his final resolution.  
  
He was falling. All he could see was falling. All he could feel was falling. The shuttle craft was left a long way behind him now. He could see the bottom of the bay, where strange Than machinery continued to work. Sharp, evil, pointed edges would be his end. He saw the place that would be his untimely grave.  
  
"Harper," he heard Lightning cry through the link.  
  
Harper was falling. All he could see was falling. All he could feel was falling. He could say nothing.  
  
He was falling. Falling. He was falling forever. Then, the slow motion that had seemed to envelop Harper for so long fell. He closed his eyes tightly. He heard yells from the Than above. He heard the roar of fire and engines. He heard his own scream.  
  
"I failed," he heard his own words. His own last words.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED…  
  
  
  
  
  
1.1  
  
1.2  
  
1.3  
  
  
  
1.4 


	4. 

1 "Tempus Fugit" [Part Four]  
  
The worst kind of pain imaginable  
  
Is no longer through physical torture.  
  
It is through the mind.  
  
1.1.1 Obsidian Rain  
  
C.Y. 10137  
  
For hours now Ashes of Lightning had sat in his laboratory, with the link to Harper still open, waiting for something to happen. He couldn't sense that Harper was dead, yet nor could he sense that he was alive.  
  
He had tried to boost the signal of the link, in case that it had cut off and he had no way of knowing, but nothing worked. He had been growing ever more tense since the plan failed. He knew that the somebody had traced the link back to him. He supposed that somebody would be there to arrest him soon. But he had expected it to be much sooner than this.  
  
In the last hours, Lightning had heard even worse news. He had managed to find out who had traced the signal. He had found at that it was the Hegemon's Sentinel, the dark regime of corruption and terror that had arisen since the fall of Syn-Avan-Dar. Since that fateful day the Hegemon's Sentinel and the Hegemon's Guard had been locked in a civil war. If it was the Sentinel who had tracked him down, he had no chance.  
  
Suddenly, he heard something in his mind. He blinked and he saw through Harper's eyes. That was all he needed. He knew that Harper was alive. Swiftly, Lightning cut the link.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Harper's eyes opened gradually. He had been aware that he was alive for sometime, but he was so dazed and confused. His mind was in such turmoil that he had no clue what to do. When he finally did open his eyes, he was faced with a small, dark chamber. The room was a strange shape. It was rounded to a small edge where there was a door.  
  
He felt out for the link with Ashes of Lightning. He briefly felt it, but then he was cut off. He felt it no longer.  
  
Harper then became aware of where he was. He was chained to the wall, in much the same way that he had chained Ashes of Lightning to the wall so long ago. He was hanging forward, in a rather uncomfortable position, but there was nothing that he could do about it.  
  
He looked up as he heard the massive entrance doors slide open. A short, old looking female Than walked in. She was an Amber Than, a worker, as shown by her dark yellow, brown colourings.  
  
"My lord," she said, not to Harper but to someone else, "the human." She gestured towards Harper, then bowed down and left the room.  
  
Another Than entered. He was tall and obviously held a position of great authority. His own colouring was dark red, indicated that he was a Ruby Than. Harper didn't know much about the Than caste systems, all he knew was the colourings.  
  
The Ruby Than was followed by two Emerald Than, who took up guarding positions at the door. The Ruby Than proceeded to a small desk which Harper had not noticed. The desk protruded from the wall to Harper's left. Standing behind the desk, the Ruby Than could look directly at Harper in that evil way.  
  
"Your name is Seamus Harper," was the first thing the Than said.  
  
"What's it to you?" Harper asked.  
  
"You were among those that destroyed Syn-Avan-Dar," the Ruby Than continued. "I was there you know. I was a general for the Guard."  
  
"Well I can tell you that I'm bursting with joy," Harper told him sarcastically. "But please don't let me stop you. If I do burst, at least I'll be free from more Syn-Avan-Dar stories."  
  
"My name is Obsidian Rain," the Ruby Than announced, "do you remember it?"  
  
"How can I Mister Bug," Harper retorted, "I haven't met you yet."  
  
A sudden pain shot through Harper's body. It was a pain like no other that he had felt before in his life. He couldn't stop the scream from escaping his mouth and the tears from streaming openly down his face. His blood stained face.  
  
"In my time line you have," Obsidian Rain said. "I was aboard the Andromeda when the Nova bombs were fired. And then, when the Andromeda escaped, your captain detained me, and tortured me for what seemed like a lifetime."  
  
"That's not true."  
  
Another pain, even worse than the one that came before it shot through Harper. He screamed for eternity. He couldn't see anything for the tears. He felt his skin cripple. He felt it split and pour with blood. When he finally stopped screaming he fought for breath.  
  
"For almost two years I was tortured aboard the Andromeda. It was your captain that made me what I am today." Harper said nothing. He let Obsidian Rain continue. "I think I'll start from the beginning with my story. I was working for the Guard on Syn-Avan-Dar. It was a glorious day. The Overdiamond had come to Syn-Avan-Dar, to announce the inclusion of the Than Hegemony in the renewed Commonwealth. It was the happiest day of everybody's lives. Including your crews, as I recall. The Overdiamond had come to Syn-Avan-Dar because it was the most peaceful, most beautiful planet of the time. He wanted to show Captain Hunt a fine example of Than architecture. And he did. Then, three days after she first arrived on Syn- Avan-Dar, your ship fired two Nova bombs at the planet, everything was incinerated. Two years later, I was found drifting in space, on a Slipfighter, after brutal months of torture from your Captain."  
  
Obsidian Rain stepped away from the console as soon as he had finished. He began to walk slowly towards Harper, an evil look in his eye. "You have transponders all the way down your spine," he informed Harper, "and when I press this device," he showed Harper a small dial he held in his hand, "I can make you feel as much pain as I feel necessary."  
  
"None of it is necessary," Harper cried. "The Andromeda is gone, Syn-Avan- Dar has not been destroyed."  
  
"Then why are we still here," Obsidian Rain announced. "If the destruction of the Andromeda has stopped Syn-Avan-Dar from being destroyed, then why are we still here talking about it?" He let that one rest a while. Harper had no explanation. This made his mind race frantically. "Besides, there is always a reason to have you here. Two in fact. First of all, this is MY revenge for what happened at Syn-Avan-Dar. Different time line or the same. It makes no difference. What happened, happened. Secondly, you had a link with an Emerald Than under the Hegemon's Guard. My enemies. I want to find out everything you know. All of the secrets. A great strategic advantage in this war."  
  
Harper nodded his head down, with not enough energy to lift it up again. He had no choice however, as Obsidian Rain grabbed a matted lump of his hair and pulled his head up, so that it was level with his own.  
  
"You are hunted," Obsidian Rain spat the words at Harper, "hunted across a world at war. A war that you began."  
  
Harper spat at the Ruby Than and recoiled his head. He screamed in pain, as the torturer turned the dial. It seemed as though he was screaming forever. But soon it all paled into insignificance.  
  
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Harper's eyes shot open again. The Amber Than who had introduced Obsidian Rain earlier, was staring him in the face. She was concerned. Harper looked around the room, to see that nobody else was present.  
  
"Mister Harper," the Amber Than said, "my name is Starlight Empathy."  
  
"Hey," Harper greeted her, "you here to torture me as well. There's a queue about a mile long you know."  
  
"No, I'm not here to torture you, I'm here to help you."  
  
That was a new one. Harper was almost overwhelmed with joy. He tried not to show it. "How long have I been here?"  
  
"It's been a month since the Guard / Sentinel fleet destroyed the Andromeda. It was the first thing they've done together for a long time." She was smiling at him. "You've been here for about a week. You've been tortured everyday."  
  
Harper could hardly remember any of it. He remembered Ashes of Lightning. But he assumed that Lightning was dead now. "How are you going to help?"  
  
"There's a ship, a shuttle waiting in a secured location," Starlight Empathy told him. "I've managed to rig it so that it looks like just an ordinary ship. If Rain tries to trace it, the signal will lock on to another shuttle."  
  
"Thankyou so much," Harper cried at her, as he was untied. He stood on his own two feet for the first time in a week. He fell to his knees. He screamed in pain as scars that had healed over his knees where ripped open. He noticed that all of his clothes were now crimson with stains of blood.  
  
"Ssshh," Starlight urged, "they will hear you."  
  
She helped Harper to his feet and walked him out of the room. Immediately after they exited from the doors they turned left and went up some steps. Every now and then Harper tripped on a step and cried out in pain. He cried openly now, the pain being too much for him to handle.  
  
"Come on, quickly," Starlight urged.  
  
Before long, they could see sunlight, and Harper could see a Than shuttle waiting. The doors were already open.  
  
"Go on," Starlight Empathy said to him, "I have to leave you here."  
  
"No," Harper said, "please you have to come with me. I need help."  
  
It was that hesitation that caused Starlight Empathy's downfall. Obsidian Rain had noticed that Harper was gone and now the Sentinel guards where on the landing pad. Weapons blazed from the steps below. They only had a few more left to climb.  
  
A blue bolt of lightning hit straight through Starlight's chest and she fell down the stairs. "Nooo, " Harper cried in despair as he fell to the stairs.  
  
He no longer thought of the pain. He just thought of his friends. He remembered Dylan's face, the face of a renewed Commonwealth. He remembered Beka's face, that tough hard face that had given him support at so many times. He remembered Tyr's face, sincere and strong. He remembered Rommie and he remembered Rev Bem.  
  
"My pain belongs to the devine!" He shouted.  
  
But most of all he remembered Trance. He remembered her beautiful face. Her innocent face. Innocence. As he thought of Trance, Harper had a sudden burst of energy. He got to his feet to see Obsidian Rain standing behind him. He had a gun. With more will to fight inside him than he had ever felt before, Harper swung round and smashed Obsidian across the face with his arm. He fell.  
  
Harper shot to the shuttle and jumped into the chamber. The doors shut behind him. As Than weapons began to fire, he sat down in the chair. He grabbed the steering rods and guided himself away. He was free. At last. He heard the faint buzz of Than weapons die down. And he pressed some buttons.  
  
"Course Set: Arami Eltor." Came up onto the screen in Vedran. He was free. At last.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED…  
  
  
  
  
  
1.2  
  
1.3  
  
  
  
1.4  
  
1.5  
  
1.6  
  
  
  
1.7 


	5. 

1 "Tempus Fugit" [Part Five]  
  
It is said that all good things must come to an end.  
  
There are no good things.  
  
Only bad things.  
  
And they never end.  
  
1.1.1 The Last Vedran Empress – Sucharitkul XII  
  
C.Y. 9783  
  
Slowly, as he winced in pain, Harper stepped down the familiar steps. The doors to Ashes of Lightning's chamber stood open. But what he saw wasn't good. He saw piles of rubble, and twisted metal. Fires blazed here and there. Sparks flew from the corners of some of the screens.  
  
"I have enclosed a detailed account of everything that has happened," Harper heard Ashes of Lightning saying. "End of message."  
  
Harper stepped around the corner, carefully picking his way though the wreckage, to see the Than picking a chip out of the computer console. The Emerald Than looked up at Harper, and an expression of extreme joy shot across his face.  
  
"I thought that I would never see you again," he said breathlessly. "How did you escape?"  
  
"That's something that I would rather not discuss," Harper said. All of the humour had left him. He was hoping that his reunion with Lightning would be a happy one, but it had not worked out that way.  
  
He fought back endless streams of tears as he remembered all of the blood on his hands. Starlight Empathy had died for him. 2 billion Than had died because of him. "I have a ship," Harper told Lightning. "I want you to show me how to go back in time. We'll carry out the plan as we said."  
  
"We will," Lightning agreed. "Here," he said as he put a small computer chip in his hand. "If this mission goes as a success, you will sooner or later arrive on Syn-Avan-Dar. When you do, I want you to give the Overdiamond this chip. Don't you look at it first. Please. Don't. It's for him."  
  
Harper nodded in agreement. All he was thinking about was the mission. He just hoped that it went with a success. He couldn't bare to see his friends die again.  
  
"This is how it will happen," Lightning began, "I'll help you set this up into your shuttle. Then you go to Slipstream and when you do hold onto this crystal." He passed him the Than gem. "The temporal energies should cause you to replace the Harper in that time line. In other words you will return to the point a few moments before the Than fleet arrive at Haephastos."  
  
"Will I remember everything that's happened?" Harper questioned.  
  
"Unfortunately yes," the Than told him. "But we need that. You need to destroy the Than and the time-line should be restore to normal."  
  
"OK," Harper nodded in agreement. He knew that it was going to be dangerous but he had an addition to the plan. He knew that Dylan would have just secured the shipment of Nova bombs. If he told Dylan to fire them all into the Slipstream nexus all of the Than ships would be destroyed and there would be no Nova Bombs left. That would mean that there would be no bombs to attack Syn-Avan-Dar with. Everything would be fine. He hoped.  
  
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Inside the Slipstream engine room on the Than shuttle, there was a massive orb of light, much like the one on the Andromeda. Ashes of Lightning rested the Than emerald on a tall pointed pole, much like the one in his chamber.  
  
Suddenly, light burst from the gem, and holographic Vedran writing filled the room. Harper watched as Lightning keyed in a few symbols. Then the light vanished back into the gem and a beam of immense light shot into the Slipstream core. The glowing orb shivered and began to fold in on its self. As it did, it became much darker.  
  
"Let's go," Lightning said as he handed the gem to Harper.  
  
Harper followed the Than back to the central chamber and let him close the doors to the engine room.  
  
"This is where we part companies," Lightning said. "This is the end. But hopefully it's a beginning."  
  
"Well if this doesn't go right then you'll know. But if in a few hours you don't exist any more, everything will be fine." Harper tried to grin at the Than, but he grimaced in pain instead. It was immense pain. "My pain belongs to the divine," he whispered to himself.  
  
"Goodbye Mister Harper," Ashes of Lightning opened the doors and stepped out onto the street beyond. "I hope I never see you again," he said his last words to Harper, while smiling at him. That was the last they ever saw of each other. But for Harper it was not. For they would meet again on Syn- Avan-Dar.  
  
Harper turned from the doorway and went to the chair. He set up the controls and flew the ship into the skies, saying goodbye to Lightning for the last time. He saw those familiar golden clouds. Only this time, they where speeding away.  
  
Before long, he was in space. He saw a never-ending abyss of stars stretch out in front of him. He was nearly free.  
  
Then, the darkest twist came. Than mooring cables grabbed at the shuttle. Harper felt no weapons but he felt the cables. There was nothing he could do. He couldn't see where he was going. The shuttle was being pulled in backwards. But he was ready.  
  
He pulled out his force lance and prepared to fire it. The doors glided open. Only a Ruby Than stepped through before Harper hurriedly shut them. It was Obsidian Rain.  
  
"I don't have the time for this," Harper cried.  
  
"On the contrary, you have all the time in the world."  
  
Harper made sure the doors were locked shut before he charged at Obsidian Rain. He had not expected that. Obsidian's head hit the metal door and he was dazed. Harper grabbed his force lance and used it as a staff. He whacked Obsidian one last time. Then he grabbed Obsidian's head.  
  
"It's the end," Harper said. "You've lost. I've won." With a swift motion he broke Obsidian's neck. He surprised himself with his own strength.  
  
With no time to loose he got back into the pilots chair. With an unexpected amount of force, the Than shuttle shot away from its captors. Weapons pounded down as Harper fled into Slipstream.  
  
He remembered the Than gem and he held it firmly in the palm of his hands. He saw the nexus of Slipstream surround him. Than weapons continued to pound his shuttle. Then, one fatal blow hit and the shuttle exploded. Harper was dead. In this time line.  
  
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"Within reason."  
  
Beka looked up at Harper in amazement. A light folded in around him and then convulsed erratically. Then, there was just Harper. A blood soaked Harper.  
  
At first Harper remembered nothing. He was confused. And then, all of a sudden, words and faces raced through his mind. He saw Ashes of Lightning. He saw Obsidian Rain. He saw Starlight Empathy. He saw the Andromeda burst into millions of pieces. He saw the terror on the Than faces at Syn-Avan- Dar. He felt his body ripped apart there. He saw the planet erupt into chaos. He saw pain. He felt pain.  
  
"Beka," he cried. He had never been as happy in his life. He fell to the deck in utter amazement and happiness. He cried tears of happiness. "I'm back, I'm back," he cried. "At last," he cried. He was back. At last.  
  
"Harper, what's going on?"  
  
"It's a very long story –"  
  
Harper was cut short. "CODE RED. CODE RED. THAN WARSHIPS ON MULTIPLE VECTORS."  
  
"Oh god," Harper cried as he remembered Rommie's warning. He hit a button in front of him, "Dylan," he cried. "Dylan, fire ALL of the Nova Bombs at that Slipstream portal. Do it now. All of them. Before its too late." Harper felt the gem in his hand turn to dust.  
  
"What? Harper?"  
  
"Dylan if you trust me now is the time to show it," Harper screamed. "And if you don't, now is the time to start."  
  
Beka and Harper watched in horror as nearly 20 blue bolts of light shot from the Andromeda into the Slipstream. The portal collapsed in on its self, destroying all of the Than. The twisted, ball of light and energy suddenly burst into flames. The remaining Than ships were destroyed.  
  
Harper held tight onto the bar. It was all he could do to stop himself from collapsing. "I'm so sorry," he said to himself.  
  
"Harper," Beka cried at him, "what the hell was that?"  
  
"I'm so sorry," he repeated.  
  
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Some hours later, Seamus Harper lay his head back on the comfortable pillow in his quarters aboard the Andromeda Ascendant. His many wounds throbbed with pain but he ignored them.  
  
Everybody had questioned him when had returned to the Andromeda. Both Dylan and Beka had wanted a solid explanation. Harper wouldn't give them one. Nobody else had said much to him. They were all worried about him.  
  
Trance had attended to his wounds, before she allowed him to return to his quarters. Now, he tried to sleep. But it was an erratic sleep. Hardly a sleep at all. He continually woke in a cold sweat screaming. Different names in his mouth. Different images in his eyes. This time he woke, and Trance's cold, soft hands stroked his hair.  
  
"Its OK," she told him, "its OK."  
  
He wanted to cry but he couldn't. "It's not OK." He said.  
  
"Harper, are you going to tell me or anyone what happened. Why, it happened?"  
  
"I'll say this," he announced, "if was either them, or us."  
  
Harper laid his head back down on the pillow. He closed his eyes. Trance continued to stroke his hair. Harper didn't dare to even guess at the thousands of Than whose deaths he was responsible for. He wanted to cry for them. But he couldn't. All of his tears were gone.  
  
The nightmares came again. Familiar faces. Familiar scenes. Familiars feelings and sounds and pains. He saw many thousands of screaming Than. Screaming for help. Screaming for mercy. Screaming to live. He wanted to cry for them. But he couldn't. All of his tears were gone.  
  
THE END  
  
  
  
1.2 


End file.
